Cota’s Fashion Talent

The College of The Arts (Cota) has had a history of producing some of the country’s finest fashion design talents; the likes of Taimi Sakeus and Ruberto Scholtz both went on to create names for themselves in Namibia and beyond.

Not much has changed over the years, with the college continuing its tradition of producing talented and skilled graduates who end up working in various sectors of the fashion industry.

This time around, the new faces are as impressive as their predecessors and have put out final-year collections that are indicative of the endless talent among Namibian youth.

Nikita van Wyk, one of the final-year students at Cota, says her hope for the future is to teach younger, aspiring designers. “My dream is to one day be a fashion lecturer so that I can teach and pass down my skills,” she says.

Her collection produced as part of her final year at the college consists of edgy and retro pieces inspired by the late Michael Jackson. The pop star has always been an inspiration for Van Wyk, who says that her family’s adoration of Jackson led her to also be inspired by his music.

“I grew up in a house where we listened to him and his death was a big tragedy for all of us so I wanted to pay homage to him with this collection,” she says.

Rebecca Ndafaenongo, another final-year student, describes her collection as “funky, classy and playful”.

“I had this crazy idea of placing pockets, padlocks and shapes on the sleeves and I played around with colours like mustard, black and cream, which are all trending colours for 2018,” she says. She adds that her aim was to make people wonder and see something new by creating texture and placing details on sleeves.

Having just completed her studies, Ndafaenongo’s vision is to be part of a manufacturing revolution in Namibia.

“I want to create factories like Ramatex, so people can be employed. We can grow our fashion industry and grow our economy. We can bring together fashion designers, pattern-makers and seamstresses to work together and better our industry,” she says. In the shorter term, she aspires to go into retail and expand her work to incorporate footwear, accessories and even bedding. “That is my vision of myself and my business in the future, not just to be successful by myself but also to give back to the community.”

Cota graduates have exhibited their work at fashion week and at the college’s annual fashion show.

One of the external examiners of the students’ work and seasoned fashion designer herself, Leah Misika says the students have a lot of potential. “I was more impressed with their ideas than I was with their execution. I think it’s maybe because I’ve seen the students’ work when they were in their second year so seeing their final collections, I knew they were capable of better. It was interesting to see how they’ve progressed from their second year to the third year,” she says.

For her, it was once again the second-year collections which stood out. “The second-year students really put out good work, things that can be mass-produced.”

Misika’s advice for the young upcoming designers is to never stop learning and to find opportunities to learn from seasoned designers. “Try to work with other designers who are established. Get paid internships and ask for advice on how to make your final-year collection better, especially in terms of execution,” she advises.

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